Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 storylines to watch during training camp

The Toronto Maple Leafs open training camp on September 13 and there will be a lot to watch as the team prepares for their trip to St. John’s.

It has been a busy off-season for the Toronto Maple Leafs and we move one step close to the season opener against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 2 with training camp opening this week.

After consecutive first-round exits in the playoffs against the Boston Bruins, the pressure is definitely at an all-time high. Head coach Mike Babcock has drawn a lot of criticism for how the past couple of seasons.

For general manager Kyle Dubas, he’s had to navigate a tight salary cap while trying to make some significant moves and he was able to make some big changes especially on the blueline. Of course, his work is not done with one notable contract still left to be done (more on that later).

One thing many are wondering is if the team will name a captain but that is not a storyline we are going to dive deep into because we already touched on that subject a couple of weeks ago. Also, if the team was going to name a captain, there’s a good chance they will do it near the start of training camp.

When the players finally hit the ice and start preparing for pre-season games, a lot of the questions we might have about the season will be answered but here are some that we should keep an eye on.